Railway-crossing



A(No Modl.)

J. o-UMMING, RAILWAY CROSSING.

Patented LI lin from' 'nir/111111111111111 A Fig. l.

UNITED STATES Ihrrnnrg @Friet-3,)

fr .f JAMEs oUMMINe, or BUFFALQFNEW Youn.

RAILwAY-CnosslvNci.I x

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.` 38Il.,O,56.`dated Apri1v1018818.

.ippncauontied January 24, 198s. serial Nb. 261,719. (Nomade.)

T0 aff whom/jt may concern: n

Be it known that I, JAMES CUMMING, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements on RailwayOrossin-gs; and I do hereby declare that the followingdescription of my said invention, taken in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings, forms a full, clear, and exact specification, which vwill `enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tov make and use the same. p

My present invention has general reference to improvements in railway-crossings; and itL consists, essentially, in the novclandpeculiar combination of parts and details of construction, as hereinafter first fullyset forth and described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings already mentioned, Which serve to illustrate my said invention more fully, Figure l is aplan of a set of crossingfrogs embodying my said invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation in line m a: of Fig. 3 isa transverse sectional eleva-v tion in line y y of'Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a planof the crossing-frog slightly modified. Y v

Like parts arefdesignated by corresponding letters of reference in all the figures. l

The object of my present invention is the' production of a durable railway-crossing-a matter rather difficult to accomplish, owing to the'increased weight of the rollingstock of the present day as compared with that ofa few yearsago. l

I accomplish the object in view byv constructing my railway-crossing with four separate frogs, consisting each of a very strong bed piece or plate, A, of ironof about ten inches in width and from three-fourths of an inch to one inch thick, one of such a set of frogs being shown in Fig. 4. In about the center of this plate A, I form a depression, c, Fig. 2, `capable of receiving the basepiece,or bed A at the angle required for the crossing to be .produced in such a manner that the top surfaces of these plates `are even and that the various railsy hereinafternamed may be riveted v-upon'said base-plates. i i

In the plates A A are spikeholes b of suit? able sizeand number, by means of which said plates arefastened upon the timbers B, and

lfurther holes, c, Fg. 4, receiving .rivets by Which the rails arerivetedupon the plates.

C are the approaching rails Aof a railway.

They reach a certain distance overthe end of i* the plates A A', solthat theirzends bearupon these plates, as hereinafter n'nentioned.y

D are the obtuse-angled running-rails of the frog, and Ethe vobtuse-angled guard-rails,

while F are theeacuteangled running andI F the similarly-angled guard. rails. Y 'f gles of which eorrespondwith -the angles'lof Y the frogs, and Ha rubber cushion placed un derneath said bridge-plate G. 'This"bridge-Y 65Y what less thanl the width of the flanges of the f car-wheels, 85e., passing over the crossing, so

that'while goingover. the plate G `the lwheels ride partly on the said rplate and partlyon the,

runningrails, vthe weight to be carried by either being regulated to quite a degree of ex' actness'by 'the rubber IzI underneath saidplate -being made more -or less thickandl of more than one thickness when necessary or desir# able. -l

All the rails entering into the construction of this crossing are' accurately fitted inthe joints and bolted together by sh-plates and y bolts J. Fig. 2, in thefusual manner'. u

` It will now be observed that the entirecrossf` ing consists of four separate and independent frogs, (one of `which,'with a small portion of thek adjoining frogs, is shown in Fig; 4,)"either of whichvrnay be readily removed from its position for repairs, renewals, 8vo., Without. disturbing theremainingportons of the crossing-a result not capable of being accomplished y by any other' construction with which Iam i 'f y A 95l acquainted. I

A 1n railwaycrossings as now constructed 1t is usual to make a' solid foundation for-the crossing from masonry, upon which are placed matched timbersa substructure at once/very costly, and often not even then capable of loeing properly made, owing to the nature of the` l soil into Which the foundation is being placed. By constructing the frogs with thefbase-plates', Y n as "described, -withthe approaching rails bear-1 7C plate to the top surface of the rails is some'- y.

ing with the ends vupon said base-plates and all rails overlapping onto the adjoining baseplates, I am enabled to dispense with all such costly foundations and to use ordinary ties and timbers on'ly-a matter of saving which forms-quite an item in the cost of production and maintenance of this crossing as compared with other railway crossings and switcheswhile at the same time there is no possibility of the crossings tipping when heavy engines and loaded cars are running over the same.

In some cases this crossing maybe modified by constructing the s ame of but two separable sections, as shown in Fig. Lwhich will makea lstronger crossing than the one constructed of `four removable frogs, but not so readily removed and replaced where, owingto inclina@ tions of the tracks at curves, Sac., one frog is worn out sooner than the others in the same crossing.

It`vvill be further observed that bythe introduction of the stops I, I obtain the following results, viz: First, the bridge-plates are more securely kept in their position and prevented from lateral playing, resulting in the Wearing of the rubber cushion H; second, should a bridge-piece be accidentally broken, which in cold weather is liable to happen, it or pieces thereof cannot be carried away or misplaced so as to cause accidents,while, third, they prevent the rubber cushion from creep ing, and thereby reducing its thickness, and consequently its carrying capacity and usefulness. These stops are therefore quite essential elements in thepresent construction of my railway-crossings.

It is obvious that my improved railwaycrossing is capable of being used without the bridge-pieces, and will Without the same be found much more durable than the common or other improved crossings heretofore in usea fact which has been frequently demonstrated where my frogs, having been substituted for the former, have invariably proven to last at least twice as long and longer than the ones which they have replaced.

. Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure to me by Letters Patent- 1. In railway-crossings, the series of removable frog sections, each having base -plates crossing one another in depressions, as described, secured together, with the rail of one section overlapping the joints of the base plates of the adjoining sections, substantially as and for the object specified.

2. In railway-crossings, a series of frogs consisting each of a base-plate, A, having centrally a depression, a, a baseplate, A', intersecting said base-plate at said depression, the running and guard rails riveted to said base-plates,

the bridge-pieces located at the intersection of said rails,the cushion underneath,and the stops for said bridge-pieces, constructed and cornbined substantially in the manner as and for the object stated.

3. In combination with the intersecting rails of a crossing o r switch frog, a bridge-piece, substantially as described, having the rubber cushion and the end stops, as and for the purpose indicated.

4. In a railway-crossing, a series of removable frogs, each having the rails of one overlapping the adj oining edge of the opposite baseplate, said rails being riveted to their respective base-plates and secured to the rails of the adjoining frogs by fish-plates and bolts, as described, whereby eac'h series of frogs may be readily removed Without disturbing the remaining frogs,as and for the purpose specified. In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my `invention I have hereto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

l JAMES CUMMING. Attest:

MINNIE HEIM, WM. O. STARK. 

